RELIGION | SPIRITUALITY | SELF | DIVERSITY | CULTURE

When Jesus, Allah & Ram Teamed Up for a Masterclass

A belief system borrowing from 5 major religions of the world

When I am asked if I am religious or not, I don’t really have an answer. I go for that safe diplomatic response of:

“I am Hindu by birth, not really by choice, so I am not sure if I am truly religious but I am definitely spiritual.”

That is sort of the truth. I was born in India into a Hindu family, and have grown up largely around Hindu beliefs in terms of religion. While my parents are fairly religious, they’re quite practical in how they approach it. I’ve been part of many Hindu traditions, poojas, rituals, and so on, but I’ve never had things forced upon me.

I’ve largely not had a problem with being a “Hindu” as there aren’t specific things about the religion itself that I dislike, nor do I so strongly feel about another religion that I’d bother to convert. Am I an atheist then? Not really. I don’t claim to know who and what a “God” is — whether it’s the Hindu Ram, or the Islamic Allah, or the Christian Jesus, or one of the other Gods based on other religions. I do however think, that while science may have multiple theories to define the world as we know it, there probably is a “greater power” that brought the universe into existence.

I may believe in Darwin’s theory of evolution or the Big Bang Theory — but whatever that FIRST particle of matter was, it must have come from somewhere — and so that tells me there’s something beyond the cosmos.

Religion, however, I think is the creation of man. As are cuisines. The first of humans surely survived by eating something — so food is probably as old as mankind. The same goes for a certain set of principles, beliefs, and values — the very first humans must have lived by a certain set of self-created rules and values that they may have believed in. I am going to call that set of beliefs a “religion” and define it broadly rather than associating it with the existence of “God”.

As humans evolved and became more and more diverse, we created things — boundaries, cities, nations, different belief systems, different types of food, cultures, and a million other things.

What we know as a variety of different cuisines today is the evolution of tastes and palates over centuries of food experimentation that conformed with the preferences with a certain set of people.

Similarly, the religions as we know them today, are a set of principles and beliefs that have evolved over time and have found a set of people who are followers in varying degrees of conformity.

Yet, in a global world like today, I don’t know a lot of people who stick to a single type of cuisine or food and eat the same day in and day out. The coolest type of food is in fact the fusion food — Indo-Chinese, Korean-Mexican, Japanese-Italian, and all imaginable combinations.

Why, then, should we have to choose a single religion and stick to it? Shouldn’t there be a variety of thoughts and beliefs just as there is a variety of the foods that we eat?

Here is my take on the core principles of a belief system that takes a leaf out of many of the major religions of the world.

The central element or essence of all good food is “taste and nutrition” and the essence of all religions should be “positivity and growth”.

Hinduism — Karma

I’ll start with the religion I think I know best — Hinduism. Karma in essence means action. However in its true sense, the philosophy of “Karma” dictates that good or bad actions of an individual dictate the future mode of their existence. In parts of the religion that believes in rebirths and reincarnations of a soul in various forms, karma is often believed to be carried on to future lives. So your deeds in this life could impact you in another life.

In short, Karma is what you’d call “as you sow, so shall you reap”.

Christianity — Thou Shalt Not Take the Name of the Lord Thy God in Vain

Coming from a place of limited knowledge, I’d assume The Ten Commandments are believed to be the most sacred of Jesus Christ’s teachings.

And, so, I decided to pick the one that I think holds most relevance. The problem with the division caused in the name of religion is essentially the misuse of religion. Any religious extremists who spread hatred in the name of God are doing a disservice to the world and to the religion they claim to represent.

This one commandment essentially sums it up — don’t use the name of “God” in vain — in a broad reference.

One shouldn’t use the name of religion or of God for any wrong intents and purposes.

Islam — Zakat or Donation / Alms

Islam is a big religion in India, with a significant portion of the population that practices Islam, thanks to our historical roots and the fact that undivided India was comprised of India and Pakistan — India’s predominantly Islamic neighbor state.

Islam is one of the most misunderstood and misrepresented religions in the world, and often falsely accused/related to terrorism and extremism.

Yet, it like any other religion, has some beautiful learnings and lessons for us to imbibe. Of the five core pillars of Islam, one is “Zakat” or broadly translated as alms. It largely has to do with donating a part of your income to other members of your community that are in need. It’s a belief I hold strongly that if the “haves” of the world were to be generous enough and help the “have-nots”, we’d have a much happier world.

In accordance with Islamic law, Muslims donate a fixed portion of their income to community members in need. Many rulers and wealthy Muslims build mosques, drinking fountains, hospitals, schools, and other institutions both as a religious duty and to secure the blessings associated with charity.

Buddhism — Nothing is Permanent

The most beautiful and also the most challenging thing about life is that nothing is permanent. Life is a journey of constant change. The three universal truths, that Buddhism believes in, articulate this impermanence perfectly.

They not only talk about how life and all its components are impermanent, but also talk about the insignificance of material possessions. The basic understanding that our happiness and joy isn't dependent on a set of things and people is key to attaining true happiness and satisfaction.

Everything in life is impermanent and always changing.

Because nothing is permanent, a life based on possessing things or persons doesn’t make you happy.

There is no eternal, unchanging soul and “self” is just a collection of changing characteristics or attributes.

Sikhism — Ik Onkar — Diversity & Equality

Sikhism is a religion that has a beautiful history that I won’t get into here. The word “Sikh” means learner or disciple. The religion believes in simplicity and leading a simple life in any form while keeping the core principles at its heart.

The Sikh symbol of “Ik Onkar” essentially means that God is One but has a much deeper meaning. It is one of the most inclusive religions with the premise of equality and diversity at its very core.

Guru Nanak, the founder of Sikhism, extended this doctrine to include the idea that, if all people worship the same God, then all people are equal. Ideally, this also applies to all people, regardless of caste, color, gender, etc.

It flows from this belief that if all people are equal, then all paths to God, all ways of worship are also equal. Sikhs do not believe that their way is the only way and, therefore, Sikhs do not proselytize their ideology or beliefs.

There are many other religions that have grown and been derived from some of these major religions discussed. But I’ve limited my perfect cocktail of beliefs to the religions that I understand to some extent. Judaism is another major one but its belief system lies very close to the core of Christianity with The Ten Commandments, and so embodies much of the same beliefs.

I truly believe, that religion can be a beautiful thing, if it isn’t used to divide but to unite. If we can be as inclusive and open-minded in thinking about religions as we are about various kinds of foods and tastes, we’d have a much broader outlook towards life.